


Damage: Volume II

by MajorPidge (ScoracleTrash), ScoracleTrash



Series: Damage [2]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Grooming, Manipulation, Sadomasochism, creepiness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:42:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 15,552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29280156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScoracleTrash/pseuds/MajorPidge, https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScoracleTrash/pseuds/ScoracleTrash
Summary: Part Two in my “Palpatine totally had sex” series.No longer a handmaiden, Rabe begins to study opera on Naboo while having a secret, long-distance relationship with the Chancellor. During her studies, problems with a fellow student cause a darker side of her lover to emerge. Eventually, Rabe moves to Coruscant, and the Clone Wars loom on the horizon.
Relationships: Sheev Palpatine/Rabe Tonsort
Series: Damage [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2132304
Comments: 38
Kudos: 35





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome back, wicked ones. This installment will be longer and will have more of that sweet shameful goodness this whole thing was designed as an excuse to write.

Two years crawled by. I kept a journal, writing in it monthly, pouring out the thoughts I wanted him to know, the things I didn’t want to forget to tell him. I dreamt of him constantly, even when I poured myself into my work by day. I gradually stopped crying as one year passed and I began to count down the weeks with all the excitement of a child before a school holiday. 

I applied to the Reiltan Academy of Opera in Theed, a private and prestigious institution, with several illustrious recommendation letters. I got in. 

And I waited. 

And then, one day, just like that, it was over. 

He visited again at our sequestering. He had little time, but we still found a moment to embrace each other desperately and share a kiss. 

The next morning, we spoke via comm for the first time since I had sent him my tearful message that I could no longer speak to him. 

It was going to be so very odd, having a flat to myself, a bedroom to myself. I was terrified I would be lonely, after four years of being surrounded by a family of other girls who had grown up with me. Of course, we immediately formed a group holonet message room, to keep in touch. 

The flat itself was a gift from him. It was fully furnished, in a building nice enough to be luxurious but not so fine it would raise suspicion how a music student would afford it. Lots of students had sponsors, after all. 

I left my luggage in the foyer and sank into the sofa with a sigh, then pressed the button on my comm. 

“There she is,” he said with a smile in his voice, “How do you like your new space?”

“I could’ve just moved into a dormitory, you know,” I said with a laugh. 

“Don’t be ridiculous. What good is it being in a relationship with the most powerful man in the Galaxy if you don’t get to enjoy any benefits of it?”

“Secretly in a relationship,” I reminded him, then sighed, “Oh, I want to see you so badly.”

“I know, sweetest. I want to see you, too. But it will only take two years to complete your training, and then it will be nothing to get you on with an opera company here, and soon you’ll be within arm’s reach of me whenever we crave each other.”

I sighed and lay back, “I can’t wait.”

“Your sponsorship is fully set up with the Academy now,” he said, “They’ll disburse your stipend. I wouldn’t discuss the amount with anyone, as it’s larger than most. And of course if you need absolutely anything more than that provides you, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“You’re too generous. If we ever go public, people will think I’m exploiting you.”

“When we go public, which we will, one day, after you’ve had a chance to live a few years like a normal person...when that happens, I won’t have a single care for anything anyone else has to say. You have never asked me for anything but my attention. You’re not exploiting me.”

There was a knock at my door. 

“Just a moment,” I said to him, and answered it. 

A delivery droid stood in my double doorway, holding a massive vase of exotic flowers. 

“Oh! Just put them on the table here,” I said, surprised at their sudden appearance. When the droid was gone I asked, “You wouldn’t know anything about an extremely large bouquet of flowers, would you?”

“Me?” I could hear his smirk, “Whyever would you think such a thing?”

“Who else would send me a bouquet the size of an R2 unit?”

He chuckled. “Alright, guilty. I’ve been caught red-handed.”

“You’re so romantic,” I sighed happily. 

“If you find yourself interested, you might spend a little time researching floriography,” he said, “Each of the four flowers I selected has a meaning, according to a rather interesting code used about five hundred years ago.”

“You sent me a secret message?” I almost squealed with delight. 

“I did. Let me know when you decipher it.”

“I will. I suppose I should let you go.”

“Yes, I’m afraid so. I have to attend a proceeding in Gunray’s trial in half an hour.”

“Ugh. May he rot in prison.”

“Agreed. Have a lovely morning, sweetest.”

“And a good afternoon to you.”

Floriography proved to be an elusive subject on the holonet. I finally resolved that if I was going to figure out exactly what Sheev had said to me, I was going to need to go to a library.


	2. Chapter 2

“Wow!”

Eirtae stepped into the foyer of my flat and looked around with wide eyes and an open-mouthed smile.

I flushed a little, embarrassed.

“This is as nice as our rooms in the palace,” she said as she stepped into the sitting room and flopped into a chair, “Oh, this is comfortable.”

“Is it really that fancy?” I winced a little.

“I mean, that may be an exaggeration but come on. This is the nicest building in the Arts District! How did you afford this?”

“I, uh,” I coughed, “I got a very generous sponsorship.”

“Oh wow,” she said, “Mine just covered room and board at the Arts Academy. Who’s sponsoring you?”

I shivered for a second. There was a very large part of me that was very proud of the fact that Sheev thought me worth his time, his investment, and I longed to tell at least someone close to me. But at the same time, we had promised each other not to tell anyone, and so I wouldn’t tell even Eirtae.

“I don’t know,” I said, “They’re remaining anonymous.”

“That’s mysterious,” she said, “And a little worrying. I’ve heard stories of people having issues with anonymous sponsors in the past. Wanting more than just the good feeling that comes from supporting the arts, if you catch what I’m saying.”

“Oh, they’d never do that,” I shook my head, “I’ve...corresponded with them, they’re very kind. Very much a patron of the arts.”

“Well, that’s good, then,” she said, “What’s the rest like?”

I took her on a little tour, showing her everything, the bedroom, the bath, the kitchen. In the kitchen was my very own droid, Lorn.

“You have an LEP?” Eirtae’s jaw dropped.

“He comes with the apartment,” I said sheepishly, “It’s not like he’s mine to keep, or anything.”

“Oh we have GOT to try and figure out who is sponsoring you. They must have more money than they can count!”

“I’d really rather not go digging,” I said, my discomfort increasing as I steered her back toward the sitting room after directing Lorn to make us some tea.

“I’m nervous about term start next week,” she said as she sat down again, “I’m afraid I’ll be so behind everyone.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said, “You were accepted; you’re exactly where you need to be.”

“I guess you’re right,” she said.

After a moment, she went on, “You should have us all over together! That would be so much fun. It’s been weeks since we’ve all seen each other; it feels so wrong.”

“It does feel strange, doesn’t it?” I mused, “Lonely.” Especially being worlds away from Sheev, too, I thought.

“It really does. But we could have the best little get-together here! And it would be no trouble at all, with a droid to help prepare.”

“Will you help me plan?” I asked, “I’ve never...I’ve never had a party before, even as a girl.”

“Of course I’ll help you plan!” she said, “Let’s think about a theme. Something fun, like...wow, look at those!”

She spied the flowers on the side table.

Probably should’ve tucked those away if I didn’t want anyone knowing about them. Damn it.

She stood and approached them.

Blessedly, the card had only my name.

“Who calls you Rabene?”

Damn it.

“A friend.”

“A friend who sends a bouquet this size?”

“Yes, Eirtae, a friend who sends a bouquet this size.”

“You don’t want to talk about it,” she said with a sigh, “Ok. I wish you’d trust me more.”

“I do trust you, Eirtae, but some things aren’t only mine to tell.”

She nodded, chewing her lip.

Lorn brought in the tea, and we sat down for a cup.

“So where do you want to go to lunch?” she asked.

I shrugged, “I haven’t the slightest idea. I don’t really know Theed all that well.”

“I noticed a Gungan place has opened on the waterfront,” she suggested, “I haven’t had much Gungan food, but I really love what I’ve had.”

“Me too,” I said, “That sounds like a great idea.”

Over lunch, we discussed themes for the party. We settled on the color red. Red food, red drinks, red flowers everywhere. We could even wear red.

Then we made our way to the library.


	3. Chapter 3

“Floriography. That’s not something people ask to research every day,” said the young man, about my age, at the polished wood counter in the center of the largest library in Theed.

“It wasn’t even something I knew existed until this morning,” I confessed.

“Well,” he tapped a screen a few times, “It looks like we have three books on it specifically, in section 6, on the third floor to the left of the stairs.”

“Perfect,” I said, “Thank you.”

“I could, uh,” he coughed once, “I could show you where.”

Oh, mercy, please don’t, I thought to myself.

“I have a good sense of direction,” I said, “Thank you, though.”

Now that I no longer spent all my time in a hooded robe stalking around palace corridors, I had noticed something happening every so often. Young men my age had been flirting with me, sometimes well, sometimes dismally.

“Is that Aurodium?” he asked of the coin hanging around my neck, which I was wearing visible sometimes, when it complimented my outfit.

“I really should get going.”

“Oh, ok,” he immediately turned sullen.

Boys. Ugh.

I went back to join Eirtae, and we climbed the grand stairs together.

“Do you ever notice the way men,” I began.

“Act like babies when you don’t show an interest in them?” she finished.

I nodded.

“Yeah,” she said, “I do. It’s part of what I miss about being a handmaiden. No one noticed us.”

The books, with their weathered spines and arbovellum pages, could’ve been accessed at any of the stations scattered throughout the library, in digital form. But something so old-fashioned as a five hundred year-old code, to me, called for paging through actual books.

I grabbed all three of them and went to a reading table. Eirtae wandered off in the direction of early music manuscripts.

The first book told me that the Alderaanian flame-rose, with its variegated red and yellow petals, symbolized “desire.” And that the plom bloom meant “sweetness.”

Apparently the code was used a lot between lovers who had to keep their intentions secret, and whenever a bouquet was given, both parties could simply claim ignorance of the code.

The second book told me the Nightbloomer flower, a rare piece of vegetation from the deserts of Jakku, meant “secrecy.” Finally, the blood orchid was one of a few flowers that meant “pain,” according to the final book.

Giggling and blushing, my stomach melting as I stood, I placed the books on a reshelving cart.

“What’s on your mind?” Eirtae asked as she sat across from me with a book of ancient chants.

“Oh, to hell with it,” I said, “I’ll be right back.” I shut myself in the refresher like old times.

“Everything alright? I thought you weren’t calling for hours.”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” I sighed, “I have to tell Eirtae.”

He sounded taken aback, “That could be dangerous.”

“She’s an absolute vault,” I swore, “She never even told Amidala about my sneaking around during the first term, or why I did it.”

He sighed, “Very well. But she has to keep it private. I don’t want you having to face undo scrutiny from the scavengers of the press while you’re trying to pursue your studies, sweetest.”

“I know,” I said, “I promise, she can be trusted.”

“Then I trust your judgement. But I would advise you not to use my name.”

I nodded, although he couldn’t see me, “Yes, I think that’s a good idea.”

“I’m glad you agree. I’ll talk to you later, dear.”

“Talk to you later. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Only when we were back in the safety of my flat, however, did I tell her.

“Eirtae,” I said, “What I am about to tell you, you can’t tell anyone. None of the girls, no one at all.”

She looked at me, matching my seriousness as she nodded and said, “I understand.”

“My sponsor and I are seeing each other,” I began, “I went to the library because, well, he sent me those flowers and he used a five-hundred year old code to send me a message with them.”

“Oh my stars, that’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

I giggled and tucked my hair behind my ear, “Isn’t it?”

“So who is he?”

“I can’t tell you his name,” I said, “He’s from a well-known family. He’s...older.”

“You and old guys,” she teased, “How did you meet?”

“It’s a long story. But we hit it off almost immediately. He’s never married or had children, and he has a very demanding job, and I honestly think he’s extremely lonely.”

“Wow,” she said, “That’s insane! Is he handsome?”

“I certainly think so. Not conventionally, but I find him attractive, at least.”

“Well, that’s what really matters, isn’t it?” she leaned in with wide eyes, “Have you two...you know…?”

My cheeks turned red and the color climbed to my temples.

“You have!” she giggled.

“He’s good at it,” was all I said.

“I mean, if he’s older, he’s had time to get good at it. Guys our age kiss like you’re eating raw octopus.”

I snorted with laughter. “It’s definitely not like that.”

“He gave me this,” I held up the coin, “It’s extremely old, though I don’t know how old or what civilization it comes from.”

“Have you given him anything?”

I giggled again, “He took a lock of my hair.”

“Oh my stars, Rabe, that’s like something out of a romance novel!” 

“I know! He’s so old-fashioned.”

“Because he’s ancient,” she stuck her tongue out at me.

“Hey, if this is how older men act, I’ll be more than happy to keep seeing them instead of boys my age.”

“I’m really happy for you, Rabe,” she said, standing, “I’m sorry I have to get going.”

“Oh, it’s fine,” I said, standing with her. In the foyer I gave her a hug, “Remind me tomorrow, and I’ll send out the possible times for the party to all the others.”

“Will do!” she said, squeezing me one last time before departing.

It felt good to have someone else know. And now, I had only an hour before I could talk to him again, and tell him I had deciphered the meanings of his flowers.

I shivered just thinking about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know at some point I’m going to exhaust my resources on this and jump back to my gay shit for a while but for now I am cranking this shit out and I love it.


	4. Chapter 4

Reiltan took opera extremely seriously. 

It wasn’t just a matter of learning to sing. There were several styles of singing to learn, and on top of that, rudimentary knowledge of the various languages of cultures and species for whom opera had been important over the centuries. There were classes in the right way to eat to avoid impeding the voice, classes in posture and movement, classes in acting, and classes in diction. And as I stared down at the syllabus of my first class, a historical survey of the genre itself, I was bursting with excitement, but also a bundle of nerves.

This was the place that would make or break me. If I could survive two years here, I could get on with just about any opera company on Coruscant, and work my way up from the chorus. 

I was so deep in my datapad, reading my textbook as I walked to lunch, that I ran smack into someone.

He managed to catch my pad before it hit the floor.

“Wow, good catch!” I said, “Thank you, I’m so sorry.”

He gave me a roguish grin. He had skin the same shade as mine, bright green eyes, and a Western accent as he said, “No problem.”

He was cute. If I had met him back at my secondary school, I probably would’ve had a crush on him.

“I’m Mik,” he said as he held the datapad out to me.

“Rabe,” I said as I took it from him.

“You on your way to lunch?”

I nodded. Oh, please don’t ask for my holochat, I thought.

“Avoid the yobshrimp,” he said, “I don’t know what they do to it, but it’s like rubber.”

I laughed a little awkwardly, “Thanks.”

We stood there another moment before I said, “I ought to go.”

“Oh, yeah,” he said, “Have a good day, Rabe.”

“You too.”

Ok, he hadn’t hit on me. That was good.

I had sort of resolved myself to working hard and not really trying to make any friends, but a girl from my history class waved me over to where she and another girl were sitting. They both had medium-brown hair and blue eyes, and appeared to be twins.

“We’re actually cousins,” the first one, Dorna, explained.

“But when we were younger, we switched places all the time at family gatherings,” the other, Aerie said, “Until I grew three inches taller. Now it’s too obvious.”

“You’re Rabe, right?” asked Dorna, “You’re from the Western provinces, yeah?”

I nodded and blushed a little, wondering how obvious my accent was.

“We visited Sente one year for school,” Aerie said, “It was really beautiful. The plums were in bloom.”

“Oh, I love plum blossom season!” I said with a sigh. I hadn’t seen it since a visit during Amidala’s first term.

“The smell was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” said Dorna, “You’re from a really pretty place.”

“You’re really pretty, too,” said Aerie.

I blushed again.

“Have you met anybody else yet?” Aerie went on.

I shook my head, “I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone, really. I already have a pretty close-knit group of friends, so I was mostly just expecting to do coursework here. Plus I don’t live in the dormitories.”

“That’s why we haven’t seen you before today!” Dorna said, “Is your family paying for you, or are you sponsored?”

“Sponsored,” I muttered into a soft bun I was about to take a bite of.

“Lucky,” said Dorna, “We both had to get in on scholarships. But that means we’re good, right?” she laughed.

“It’s definitely impressive,” I said.

We made small talk through the rest of lunch, and sat together in our next course, a rudimentary standard singing class.

On my way to my last class of the day, I ran into Mik again, though not physically, that time.

“Hey Rabe,” he said, “How’s your first day been?”

“It’s been good,” I said, unsure of how to talk to him. I was essentially waiting for the moment when he tried to make a move on me.

“First year first day is always nerve-wracking,” he said, “It’s a lot easier your second year.”

“I’m sure,” I said, trying to move past him.

“I’m sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?”

I laughed a little, “It’s not...I just...It’s just that...I’m seeing someone.”

“Hey that’s cool!” he said, “I’m not looking for anything myself, I just thought, hey, other Western person, maybe she feels as much like an odd one out as I did my first day.”

I relaxed a little and smiled, “I mean, yeah.”

“See,” he said, “Anyway, if you ever have any questions about first year classes, come find me,” he said, “I’m in the dormitories, so I’m always around. And a bunch of us go for tea at this place called Akima’s three days a week after classes, if you ever want to join.”

I doubted I’d ever tag along, although I did like tea.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said, “Thank you, Mik.”

“My pleasure. Have a good last class,” he called as he let himself get enveloped backwards into the group of students moving the opposite direction.

Making friends had never come naturally to me. Maybe I had picked up some social skills from being around the others for four years.

That night I sat in bed chatting with a hologram of Sheev, apprising him of how my first day had gone.

“I’m glad to hear you’re making friends,” he said, “Yes, you’re focused on your studies, but you need to live a normal student’s life, and that includes interacting with people your own age. Including those you don’t just know from palace life,” he gave me a softly pointed look.

“I know,” I laughed, “Dorna and Aerie were nice. And I met a second-year named Mik, too, who invited me to come have tea with his friends.”

“You’re not going to be swept off your feet by some dashing young tenor and leave me, are you?” His tone was joking, but I could see a slight bit of fear about his face.

“Blessedly, Mik isn’t looking for a girlfriend,” I said, “But even if he was, I would be the wrong target. You already have my whole heart.”

“That’s a relief,” he smiled.

I reviewed my class schedule for the following day. It would introduce a movement class that I was looking forward to. I sent a good night message to the girls, and then turned out the light.

If only things had stayed so easy.


	5. Chapter 5

Arrayed in red, the girls and I sat around my dining table on a day we all had free from our various obligations. Lorn waited on us with his usual patience and attentiveness.

“How are the preparations going for the campaign?” I asked Padme after we had settled into our drinks.

“Very well,” she said, “Thank you. It’s very different from running for the throne. I had no idea there would be so much travel just in preparation for the role, let alone the role itself. I’m really hoping I can stay planetside more than the Chancellor was able to.”

“Worst case, we all come visit you,” said Yane.

“Oh, visiting Coruscant when we’re not all exhausted and terrified,” Eirtae laughed, “That would just be terrible.”

“Besides, I’ll see you,” I said, “I’m hoping to work there.”

“Are you?” Sache asked, “How exciting!”

“Yeah,” I said, “My hope is to get on with one of the opera companies there, after I finish my training.”

“You’d fit right in there, Rabe,” said Padme, “I don’t know what it is about you per se, but you really seem like you’d fit right in.”

“I hope so,” I said, “I was really struck by how beautiful it was when we were there, even with everything else going on.”

“I could never be so far from nature all the time,” said Yane, “It’s just not me.”

I shrugged, “I can always have houseplants.”

We all laughed at that.

It felt so much like things used to be, and yet there was something about it that felt...off. As if we were all drifting in different directions that were incompatible with one another. Except perhaps Eirtae and I.

She stayed after the others left and helped me and Lorn clean up.

“Heard from your sponsor lately?” she asked when we were alone.

“At least twice a week,” I said, “Not counting anything he decides to send me in terms of surprises.”

“What kind of surprises does a rich old man send a young opera student?” she said with a dramatic flair.

“Oh, you know, school supplies,” I said, “A really nice datapad, a cover for it, a new stylus, a bag Dorna and Aerie said was from some brand no one can afford.”

“And he really doesn’t ask for anything in return?”

“Well it depends on your definition of anything,” I said, “We talk all the time, I don’t date anyone. But no, Eirtae, he isn’t doing this as some roundabout way of paying a sex worker.”

“I didn’t mean to imply…”

“I know you didn’t,” I said.

“Should I go?” she asked.

I sighed. “No, you don’t have to go. But just because I told you the fact that I’m in a relationship with someone doesn’t mean you have a right to ask prying questions about every aspect of it.”

She nodded, “I understand.”

After she left, I took a bath and got lost in thought. 

Sheev seemed to be right about my being different from the others. I honestly felt now that I had more in common with Padme than Eirtae, the former having a serious profession and path she was determined to follow, rather than acting like a nosy child about friends’ personal matters. Yane and Sache had each other and were settled together, able to be together all the time, and Sabe was tight-lipped about whatever she was up to. I just didn’t feel close to any of them, anymore.

Maybe it was time to focus more on the friends I could make at the Academy.

I decided that after a month, maybe it was time to go to tea with Mik and his friends. I could probably learn a lot from second years.


	6. Chapter 6

I fit into Mik’s group like a puzzle piece, and soon I was going out with them weekly for tea, moogan, in my case. I loved spices.

I particularly became friends with a girl named Angia, who had also been kicked out of her secondary school. Unlike me, her parents managed to get her into another one. Less serious offense, on her part, than art forgery, but we still had a certain understanding.

I ate lunch with Dorna and Aerie, I had my weekly teas, I saw Eirtae every few weeks or so, and the royal bunch and I still spoke at least weekly over the holonet. And, of course, several times a week, I spoke to Sheev.

I was doing well in my classes, as well. It was as if everything had fallen into place.

And then one night, Angia had to leave early.

She was just recounting the story of how she got ejected from her first secondary school when things began to seem strange.

“So the guidance counselor looks at me and says, ‘Listen, Angia, this is the sixth time you’ve been caught writing erotica at school. I can’t keep overlooking it just because it’s extremely good erotica.’ So she took me to the headmistress’...Ugh, my head.”

She swooned a little onto me and I caught her. “Are you ok? Do we need to walk you home early?”

“No, no, I’m fine, I,” she swooned again, onto the boy on the other side of her, “Damn.”

“Yeah, we’re taking you home.”

“I don’t know if she can walk,” said Mik, “We should call her a cab.”

I nodded.

We called her one, and stayed with the group for another half an hour or so. I promised to check in on her when I got to my building.

Normally, she, Mik, and I walked back past my building, where she also lived. She and I would go up together in the lift and everything was fine. Mik would continue on back to the dormitories, catching up to the rest of the group.

That night, it was just Mik and I.

He was quiet. Every time I tried to start a conversation with him, he brushed it off. Until we were a block or so away from my building.

Suddenly, he was pulling me into an alleyway.

“What gives with you?” he asked harshly.

“Me? You’re the one acting strange,” I said.

“It’s been six months,” he said, “You won’t even so much as look at me more than you look at anyone else.”

I blinked twice. “Mik, you told me you weren’t looking for anything.”

“Well, that’s what you’re supposed to say, isn’t it? And then it just sort of happens.”

“Nothing’s going to ‘happen,’ Mik, I’m already seeing someone.”

“Oh, what, you think you’re too good for me? Is that it?”

He took a step toward me. Every hair on my body was standing up.

“Don’t try it, Mik,” I said, a warning he didn’t deserve.

“You’ll want me,” he growled as he reached for my throat, “You’re going to want me when I’m done with you.”

The noise he let out when I grabbed his hand and arm and snapped his wrist over my knee was like a wounded mynock.

“Fucking bitch,” he fell to one knee and cradled his wrist in his other hand. It was bent at a truly jarring angle.

“I told you not to try anything, Mik,” I said, crossing my arms, “You know, you really had me fooled. I thought you honestly wanted to be my friend.”

He stood up and tried to lunge at me again. I drove the heel of my hand into his nose.

And I ran.

He’d have a hard time explaining what happened to him, I knew that much. Probably have to pretend to have been mugged. On Naboo. In the Arts District. Something no one would ever believe happened.

Of course, no one would also believe that an opera student did it to him.

I was crying by the time I locked my door, Mik’s blood and mucus on the heel of my right hand. I went to the kitchen to wash it, finding Lorn polishing silverware.

“Goodness, Miss Tonsort,” he said, “What in the world happened?”

“Nothing, Lorn,” I said, “Nothing.”

I was shaking in the bath when my comm rang.

“Hello,” I said flatly, tears still in my voice.

“Darling, what’s the matter?” Sheev asked, “You sound terrible.”

“Oh, Sheev,” I cried anew, “I thought he was my friend.”

His voice hardened, “What did the boy do?”

“He didn’t do anything,” I said, “I broke his wrist and nose, it’s what he tried to do, he tried to...he tried to…”

“Call Eirtae,” he said, “I don’t want you alone tonight. My dear, sweet child, I’m so sorry you had to see this side of humanity. I wish I could be there.”

I sniffled, “I’ll call her,” I said.

“And I’ll send you a guard droid,” he said, “I should be able to have one delivered within the hour. Are you going to report him?”

“I don’t know,” I said, “I should, shouldn’t I? I should tell the school.”

“You should. I can do it anonymously for you, if you like.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

Eirtae arrived within minutes and embraced me, hard.

“I’ll kill him. Can we kill him? Your boyfriend and I are gonna kill him.”

I laughed a little through my tears, “I know you’re trying to help,” I said, “But really, I just...don’t even want to think about what I have to do from here.”

She nodded, “Ok. Let’s have Lorne get us some chocolate and just...feel whatever needs to be felt then, yeah?”

I nodded back to her.

I cried again, she held me, and I felt stupid. I felt stupid not only for trusting anyone outside the circle I had grown accustomed to, but also for crying, for not being perfectly calm in the face of this, like I had managed to be during things that, to me, seemed far worse.

And I fell asleep clinging to her arm, wishing it was someone else’s.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *puts on sexy referee uniform, dramatically waves giant red flag*

I stopped going out.

I stopped eating lunch with Dorna and Aerie.

I didn’t even reply to Angia’s messages asking me where I had been.

I saw Eirtae weekly, I talked to the girls, I talked to Sheev, I ate lunch alone.

I passed Mik in the hallways as his bruised and bloodied nose healed, his arm cast and in a sling for weeks. He scowled at me where he had once smiled.

I reported him to the school, but it didn’t happen on school grounds, and according to them, that made it not their problem.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want your boyfriend and I to kill him?” Eirtae asked. It actually made me laugh.

Eventually, I had something to throw myself into besides my classes to distract me; a performance.

I was one of a very few first years chosen to be part of a chorus backing a pair of soloists who would perform for a visiting dignitary, the Count of Serenno, who was apparently looking to establish an opera school on his own planet and would be touring several schools of opera on Naboo.

For a few weeks, it seemed like all I did was rehearse. I barely even seemed to have time to talk to Sheev.

The Count was an imposing man. I had never seen anyone taller, and his voice was low and booming, projecting even when he spoke quietly. He wore a deep-colored cape attached with clasps and a chain, and had grey hair turning white, along with his short beard.

The headmaster led him through one of my classes, where we all stood and bowed to him.

On the night of our performance, we were each introduced. 

“Count Dooku,” said the headmistress, “This is Rabe Tonsort, a first year mezzo in the chorus.”

I bowed again, and he took my hand and raised it to his lips, bowing as well.

“Miss Tonsort,” he said, “Your reputation precedes you.”

I blinked in surprise.

“Does it?” I asked with a tilt of my head.

He just smiled enigmatically.

There was an intensity to him, a sort of darkness, that I didn’t like. He seemed hard. Even potentially cruel. The feeling he gave me was one of barely suppressed contempt with everything around him.

I remained focused on my singing, on the ups and downs of my part, of its divergence from the melody, and the high I always received from singing came to me and didn’t leave in the moments afterward.

That night, I spoke of him to Sheev.

“Count Dooku is an old acquaintance,” he said, “I’ve always found him a little tiresome, but very polite. Very old-fashioned, for better or for worse.”

“He knew who I was,” I said, “How would he know that?”

“I’m not certain,” he replied, seeming to be thinking about it, “Unless your headmaster and the faculty are impressed with you. That would make perfect sense to me.”

“Come now, Sheev, I’m only a first year.”

“Nearly complete with your first year,” he corrected me, “Plenty of time to establish yourself as talented compared to your fellow students. I’ve heard the recordings you send me, you’re as good as any mezzo soloist at the Capital Opera here.”

I giggled and tucked my hair behind my ear like I often did when he made me pleasantly self-conscious.

I settled back into my routine, feeling a little better than I had before. I was starting to get my legs back under me after what happened with Mik, and then one day about a week after the Count’s visit Angia stopped me in the hallway, pulling me into a supply closet.

“Rabe,” she asked, “Have you seen Mik?”

She looked as worried as I’d ever seen anyone look.

“Mik? Why would I have seen him? You know I don’t talk to him anymore.”

“I know, but I just thought...I don’t know, no one’s seen him in days! He left a note saying he couldn’t handle the pressure of school anymore, but it’s so unlike him. He’s only a few months from graduation! Rabe, we’re all completely lost on what to do!”

I brushed past her, “I can’t help you,” I said. I didn’t add what I thought, which was, I’m glad he’s gone.

“You sound like you’re in a good mood tonight,” said Sheev as I spoke to him that evening.

“Mik. The one who...you know. He disappeared. No one knows where he is. He left some note saying he couldn’t handle school anymore. And now he’s gone.”

“Well, that’s wonderful, isn’t it?” he asked, “Not quite the same as having him be held accountable by the system, but clearly someone is looking out for you.”

The smile faded from my face.

“What do you mean, Sheev?”

“I’d do anything for you, Rabene,” he said to me, “Would you do anything for me?”

“Of course. Darling, I’d die for you.”

“And I for you,” he said, “I’d kill for you.”

The pit of my stomach hit the floor. I was screaming inside my head. What the hell, Sheev? I considered my words very carefully.

“I…” I finally managed to find something to say, “I understand completely.”

“Good. Then you need never worry about being bothered again. By anyone. Do you?”

“No,” I said, “No, I don’t. I...Thank you.”

Thank you. It seemed like the sort of thing you said when someone solved a problem for you.

But stars, Sheev, I never in a million years would’ve asked you to solve it like this.

“You don’t need to thank me, dear,” he said, in that voice that always soothed me, “Just breathe away all that worry and remember that there’s nothing I can’t fix for you. Oh, damn, the Senator from Alderaan is here. I’ve got to go, sweetest. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” 

“Tomorrow.”

“I love you.” 

“I love you, too.”

I began to pace, and, gradually, to perform mental gymnastics to rationalize what I had just been told. Politics was a dirty game. Someone who excelled in it had to be a little bit hard, right? A little dangerous? A little bit...capable of doing less than ethical things?

But having someone killed?

I would never have thought Sheev could be capable of something like that. I thought for a moment that I didn’t know if I could stay in love with a person who would do such a thing.

But then it started to creep into my mind. He loved me. He loved me so much he defended me when the system wouldn’t defend me. And wasn’t that what he had done for Naboo? This was perfectly in character, Sheev going to great lengths for something he loved dearly.

I began to feel warm again, I even giggled, thinking about just how loved I was. And just how safe I was.

However did I get so lucky?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gotta take a bit to regroup and plot out the next plot point. I will return to this but not sure when. Thank you all so much for all the support. You don’t know what it means to me.


	8. Chapter 8

When I heard that I had passed my examinations and my audition to become a second year, I cried with joy. I was then faced with six weeks in which I had nothing in particular to do, and I was itching for the suggestion that finally came in the first week.

“Why don’t you come to Coruscant?”

I squealed.

“Now, I’ll be busy a great deal, as always. But I’ll get you a lovely suite at the nicest hotel in the Senate District, and you’ll have the run of the city and be able to explore as you like during the day. I have my ways of slipping through back doors, otherwise. We can see each other every night.”

“Yes, yes, yes!” I clapped my hands, “Oh, I can’t wait!”

“I should be able to arrange everything within a few days,” he said, “Plan to depart on the 13th and come back on the 22nd.”

“What in the stars should I wear?” I asked him.

“Wear whatever you like,” he said, “Wearing clothes from Naboo you’ll already be better-dressed than half the people in the District. You can go shopping once you get here, if you want to blend in more. I’m sure I can find a little extra allowance for you.”

“That’s so sweet of you, but all that really matters to me is seeing you.”

“Oh, sweetest, I feel the same of course, but I do want you to have fun.”

The yacht that I boarded on the 13th of the month was as beautiful as the queen’s starship, but far finer inside. I was able to put in earplugs and lean back and sleep most of the way, a marked contrast to my last time off-planet.

When I awoke, about an hour before landing, the man in the seat beside me, who looked about 40, asked me, “Business or pleasure?”

“Vacation,” I said, looking out of the window at hyperspace streaking past, “Visiting friends.”

“Lucky,” he said, “I’ve never been for fun. It seems like all I do is travel for business.”

I gave him a bare smile and nodded, moving to put my earplug back in.

“I’m in metal trade,” he said, “Mostly for jewelry.”

I nodded again and put my earplug in. He sighed and looked away.

The lobby of the Galactic Hotel had a kind of unrestrained opulence that I would never want to live in, but was tickled pink to visit. I had an idea to somewhat reinvent myself while I was traveling, assume a new identity. It was evening when I tapped the key to my room against the lock and opened the door to my suite.

An elaborate bouquet sat on the sofa table, visible the moment I walked in and the lights came on automatically. With it was a card.

“Sweetest,” it read, “I’m sorry I couldn’t greet you in person tonight. I will visit you tomorrow. Have fun on your first day! -S”

I took the card and held it to my chest, then walked around and flopped down onto the sofa.

I pulled up my comm.

“You checked in? How is your room?” Eirtae asked with rapt interest.

“It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,” I said, “It’s a little over-the-top, for certain, but it’s definitely fun for a short trip.”

“Seeing him tonight?” she asked with a pointed tone.

“Not tonight,” I said, “Tomorrow. And most nights while I’m here.”

“What are you going to do tomorrow?”

“Well, the hotel has afternoon tea, so I absolutely want to do that. I’m thinking of going shopping, too, although I don’t know the first thing about the shopping districts here. I’ll probably ask the concierge. There’s just so much to do! I hear the parks are really beautiful, too. They’re covered in domes to protect them from the industrial environment. There seem to be a hundred different ones that reflect different biomes throughout the Galaxy.”

“Oh, that sounds fascinating!”

“I know! And there’s all these art museums, and there’s the Capital Opera I want to go to, but I really need to get a gown for it, the only gown I’ve ever had is my one from the Peace Ball in the first term and it doesn’t fit anymore. I’ve grown hips since then,” I laughed.

“I’m so jealous, you’re getting to do so much!”

“I know!” I squealed, “I want to buy presents for all of you, and have you all over before the seasonal break is over to give them to you.”

“Ahh I can’t wait to see what you bring me!”

“Well, I’m starving,” I said, “I’m going to order a late dinner and then crash. I have the worst hyperlag right now.”

“Stay hydrated,” she said, “Space is dry.”

“I’ve been pushing liquids all day,” I said, “And I was thinking of getting something hydrating done to my face while I’m here to make up for all the traveling.”

“Luckyyy,” she said, “Have a good night!”

“You too! I mean, whatever time of day it is.”

Let’s see, I thought as I looked at the menu of things I could have delivered, what’s the most intriguing thing?

The menu didn’t even have prices listed, I noticed with a gulp. I really didn’t want to put my host out, but at the same time, he had always been very generous toward me, and never seemed to see money as an issue between us.

I settled on Adegan eel and a recommended wine pairing.

The eel had a delicate texture and was sliced lengthwise in ribbons, arranged around very finely mashed chokeroot and garnished with some orange sauce I had never tasted, but that complimented the flavors of the dish perfectly. The wine set it all off, dry and oceanic in taste.

And then, I couldn’t stay awake any longer. I changed into my nightgown and sunk into the spectacular bed, setting my alarm for early the next morning.

I wanted to pack in as much as I could do this week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle up bitches we’re going to smutville next time.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I had to segue into the smut with this chapter, but next time, I promise, we’re all going to hell in a racing speeder.

I woke up as early as I could stand. I called the box office at the opera and secured a ticket for myself, ate breakfast, and then went down to speak to the concierge. 

“What can I do for you?” The pleasant droid with a light, musical voice asked. 

“Good morning,” I said, “I was wanting to do some shopping today, but I’m from off-world and don’t have the slightest clue where to start.”

“Well, the upper floors of the Sof Tower are by far the most popular place to go for clothing. Everything from custom couturier droids with legendarily fast turn around times to affordable boutiques. I’ve never met someone unsatisfied with a trip there, and you can eat lunch on the top floor, the view is incomparable in this part of the planet.”

“That sounds perfect, thank you. How do I go about getting there?”

“Oh, I’m happy to call you a cab. You can have a seat in the lobby and I’ll call you when it arrives.”

“Thank you so much. What was your name?”

“L5-S80, but most people call me Sadie.”

“Sadie,” I said, “Thank you so much.”

I sat in the lobby and watched individuals of all sentient species pass me by. It was a whirl of activity, check-ins and check-outs, life at a pace I had never experienced before. People on business calls, parents corralling children, impossibly elegant looking people gliding past. I looked down at my dress and suddenly felt very out-of-place.

If I was going to fit in here, and I desperately wanted to, I would have to change a few things. 

My cab arrived quickly, and I got in the back, finding myself face-to-face with a pleasant Toydarian.

“Shopping, hm?” He asked me.

I nodded.

“You’re from Naboo, yeah?” He asked, “You can always tell someone from Naboo. Of course, I can tell people from just about anywhere, but you Naboo, you always have very distinctive embroidery and metalwork.”

I smiled softly.

The Sof Tower was majestic, taller than all the spires around it and the elevator seemed to move at lightspeed. It almost turned my stomach, but before long I was stepping off onto the first floor of shopping and looking around me in absolute wonder.

The whole place seemed to glitter. Soft lighting reflected off of marble, the sounds of a central fountain could be heard under the din of people talking to each other as they passed. Plants from multiple different planets came together in displays around the fountain.

Truth be told, I was loathe to buy anything. Gifts were one thing, but spending someone else’s money seemed like a slippery slope to an argument. Still, I needed a gown for the opera, so I made my way through the boutiques to one that sold off the rack, picked a beautiful but less-expensive minimalist red piece, and went to lunch.

The view really was incredible. As we rotated slowly around the city, I watched things pass by and thought to myself how absolutely lucky I was. This place, even in daylight, was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. I felt more at home among the grey towers than I ever had back home.

I spent the rest of the day taking a group tour past the most famous sights of the districts closest to my hotel, and made my way back to the hotel to find the only thing I truly cared about seeing waiting for me.

I absolutely barreled into him and threw my arms around him.

“Sheev!” I squealed, “Oh, love, I’ve missed you so much, I’m so glad to see you,” I said, kissing him for a long moment.

He grunted a little at the force of my impact and laughed, “I’ve missed you, too, sweetest. How was your first day?”

“I bought a gown for the opera!” I said, “That’s it right there,” I said, going over to a hanging bag that had been delivered and hung on the ridge above the door to the bedroom.

“Well, let me see it,” he said, “Did you have it made?”

“Oh, no, I just bought it off the rack,” I said, unzipping it.

He studied it with a hand on his chin and a “Hmm.”

I turned to him, “Do you not like it?”

“Oh, no, dear, I love it, but...I feel like it would be more appropriate for a formal at the Academy than the opera. It would do for the opera for someone typical, of course, but not my girl. I got you a box, you need something made for you.”

“A box?” I asked. I remembered what they cost from my call to the box office, “Sheev, I can’t possibly accept that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You’ll have a much better view of the stage. They’ll have opera glasses available so you can see the details. What’s the matter?”

I was looking down, “I just don’t know how comfortable I am with you spending all this money on me.”

“What, can’t I buy you nice things?”

“Well, yes but, I want to be clear, I love you. You. Not what you buy me.”

He gave me a sheepish look, “Well, it would be a lie to say I’m not a little concerned you’ll find someone more suited to you. I’m hoping if I make a comfortable nest, my little songbird won’t fly away. But primarily, sweetest, I simply...well, I have all the wealth of an ancient name and a long career,” he took my hand, “I have no children. No wife. Yet.” His hand squeezed mine, “I’ve invested in art and antiques, but frankly the vast majority are in storage because I haven’t anywhere to put them. Let an old man keep his fortune from going to waste, dear. Please?”

I smiled, resolve melting, and kissed his cheek, “If you insist. But I promise you, there is no one better suited to me than you.”

“However did I get so lucky?” he asked me.

“By being the most singular man in the Galaxy,” I said, “How did I?”

He looked away, then back to me, “Rabene, I am very composed as a politician, but as you already know, I do have another side to myself. I feel things very intensely, emotions, attractions, needs. When I met you, I can’t explain it but...I somehow had a sense that you, too, feel things passionately. I turned out to be correct.”

“That you did,” I said, nuzzling his jaw, “Speaking of passion, I’m going mad without having my hands on you.”

His laugh was low and dark, “I could say the same. But why don’t we have dinner first, hm?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God, this is fun to write. I think because it honestly on the surface is almost a very cute relationship, but we all know it’s inevitably barreling toward disaster because everything Palpatine touches turns dark and twisted.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you go you filthy degenerates.

We sat on the settee after dinner, and I laid my head on his shoulder. He caressed my hair and took a sip of wine before he asked,

“What’s going through your pretty head?”

I bit my lip as I sat up and turned to him, “Well, I’ve been doing a bit of reading.”

“Oh, have you?”

I flushed, “Well, I don’t want to stay completely ignorant of sex forever. And at the rate we’re able to see each other, it will be a decade before you can teach me all you know.”

“If that’s what you’re after in reading material, I can direct you to quite a few interesting manuscripts I’ve collected over the years,” he set his wine down, “What, in particular, has burrowed into your mind and refused to go away, hm? Any burning desires?” His eyes were alight as he whispered, “Tell me. Show me.”

I trembled as I slipped from the settee to the floor, on my knees.

It was something I had been curious about since I heard Mik’s friends discuss it at tea once. Something I’d never even considered, in my naïveté. But the very thought of it made me shiver, filled me with an urge I had buried since childhood - the urge for approval, the urge to be pleasing, to be useful.

Only with him could I let out that part of me. The part of me that actually wanted to be tamed.

“Don’t you look pretty like that?” He asked softly as his fingers brushed my cheek.

I bit my lip again.

It took a bit of fumbling with clasps and fabric, but before long I had him, searing warm and velvet-skinned, in my hands.

I hadn’t really gotten a look at him before. Not like this. And memory is a frail thing. I had seen statues and art, of course, but it was nothing compared to a real man.

He leaned his head back and closed his eyes with a hiss.

He tasted familiar, like his mouth tasted, but a veneer of salt. I looked up at him as I did my best to take most of him in.

He looked down at me.

“What a good girl you are,” he purred.

I moaned. I could feel myself growing wet under my dress. Any other man calling me such a thing, I’d snap him in half, but Sheev…

Sheev was the only person whose approval truly mattered.

He took down my hair as I moved up and down, slowly, hungry, savoring this, my first foray into real service of a partner. His fingers laced in the dark tresses and tugged hard enough to make me moan again.

I whimpered as he pulled me off of him.

“Very good,” he said, with a grin that, for a moment, seemed so wicked it scared me before his eyes softened again, “Thank you. When you move here, we’ll have to train you to take more.”

I leaned back on my knees, “I want more now.”

“I have no doubt, my eager little thing, but I want to be inside of you.”

I shivered at that. 

He led me into the bedroom as he had done before, took me in his arms and kissed me with that kiss that swallowed my soul.

Then he stepped away.

“Undress,” he said in that voice that I couldn’t refuse.

I flushed from collarbone to hairline as I obeyed him. He gave me an appraising look up and down when I was naked.

“You’re more beautiful than memory can possibly tell,” he said, stepping toward me and kissing me again, “Now. Go on.”

I unbuttoned his robes and slid them off his shoulders, placing a kiss on his collarbone. He lifted me, something I wouldn’t have thought he could do, and laid me back on the bed.

He shed the rest of his clothes, crawling slowly atop me and trailing his mouth from my navel up to my lips. I felt every muscle in me tense and relax as he kissed me.

“Hurt me,” I begged him.

“Good girls ask nicely,” he said in my ear.

“Please,” I said, growing more needy, “Please hurt me.”

He gripped my jaw hard, an almost excruciating feeling, and kissed me yet again, this time closing his teeth around my bottom lip. I could taste the blood he drew as he pulled away, before I saw it on his own lips.

“Is that what she wants?” He asked, his eyes flashing.

“Yes,” I said, writhing, “Yes, just like that.”

He snickered and drove his hips against mine. Once again, I could think of nothing but him as he wracked my body with his own. He bit my earlobe, my neck, my breasts, leaving shallow marks that would bruise in the shape of his teeth by morning. I sobbed as I came, and his hand caught my throat and squeezed the sides.

I almost lost consciousness.

When he let go, I gripped his shoulders and pulled him down to kiss him with fire and furor.

“What a little masochist you are, sweetest,” he said, panting as he slid out of me and rolled onto his back.

I took my place across his chest again, listening to the sound of his heartbeat slowing, “I’m just glad I found someone who can give me both pain and love,” I said.

I was spent, and so he tucked me into bed, dressed, donned a hood, and left into the night.

Every cell in my body sang his praises as I slipped into sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

“What is it you’re looking for?” Asked the droid, K-777, known simply as Seven. 

“Something simple,” I said, “Clean lines. Elegant. Not over embellished. But still dramatic enough to be appropriate for a box at the Capital Opera.”

He held his chin in his hand for a moment, walking around me slowly. 

“I have some ideas,” he said, “Let me scan your measurements and make you a few renderings.”

I stood in a pod in my undergarments that took my measurements from every angle and, when I stepped out again into the atelier, a featureless but perfect copy of myself was on the screen of the console before which the droid was standing. 

He swiped his stylus a few times and a few lines appeared. Before too long they took the shape of a gown. 

“Does this suit your fancy?” He asked with a jaunty tilt of the head. 

I nodded. “It’s perfect.”

Now that the gown was being custom stitched by a half a dozen highly specialized droids to fit me perfectly, it was time to have my hair done. 

I could, of course, have done it myself. But this was an opportunity I had never experienced before. And now that I was feeling less guilty about spending Sheev’s money, I saw no reason not to make my first trip to the opera a very special one. 

“Something fairly simple,” I said, “I don’t want to detract from my gown.”

The droid swept my hair up in a large, full bun at the crown of my head, then took a false piece of hair and draped it in a swag behind my head. I looked utterly elegant.

Then I returned to my hotel room, where another droid was waiting to do my makeup.

That, I could’ve done, too, but I figured, why not? All the other ladies, a good number of the men, and all sorts of others would be wearing full faces of dramatic makeup. The opera on a weekend night was a chance to show off and be seen. And I’d be this mysterious unknown in a box by herself.

It was starting to excite me. Especially because, I thought, they’d all know who I was one day.

Sheev and I in our conversations had discussed the fact that one day, we would go public. It would be after I established myself as an opera singer, so that there could be no media speculation that I had only succeeded because I had him pulling strings behind me.

I looked at myself in the mirror the droid held up to me.

I looked stunning. My face had been sculpted into sharp angles, like itself in shadowed relief, and my eyes were framed in elaborate, pointed black lines. I felt like I looked like some sort of bird from a wild planet, perhaps Eriadu. My lips were deep crimson.

My gown arrived, and a droid helped me into it.

The gown in and of itself was a simple halter with a sash at the waist in the color of my lips. The real star was the cape. It stretched from above the pit of my throat to halfway to my elbows, close-fitting and opaque. A sheerer fabric was gathered into the yoke and draped softly around me and pooled on the floor. When I observed myself in the full-length mirror in the bathing room as I put in my glimmering earrings, I thought I looked as stunning as a queen of Naboo, if very, very different.

My nails were black talons gripping a simple crimson bag.

It was no cab that picked me up that night, but a long black closed speeder that bore me to my destination.

I did my best to glide into the opera’s foyer. Eyes fell on me and appraised me, then moved back to their close companions. The overall impression I received was that I was just another one of them. That I belonged among this crowd milling on the grand tier outside the box doors.

A droid passed me a flute of sparkling ice wine, which I took and raised to my lips.

“I haven’t seen you before,” said a blonde woman, older, who appeared beside me in a gown of blue lace and beads.

I smiled at her. “First time on-world,” I said.

“Where are you from?” She asked.

“Naboo,” I said, “The Western Provinces.”

She cast her eyes up and down me, “You don’t look like a Naboo. Too minimalist. Too practical.”

I laughed, “I’ve never really fit in there.”

“Well, welcome to Coruscant,” she said, “Which box is yours?”

“Nine,” I said.

“That’s a good view,” she said, “The best view is the Chancellor’s box, of course, but he always shows up in the middle of the second act. Works late all week.”

I swallowed, my throat dry, and did my best to disguise the crack in my voice as I asked, “The Chancellor will be here?”

“Every week,” she said, “I’ll introduce you. What’s your name?”

“Rabene,” I said. I wanted to use my real name here.

“Cornala,” she said, “Of the Rakata Shellias.”

I had no idea who the Rakata Shellias were, but I nodded with interest.

And then the chime rang, and it was time to go to our boxes.

The first act was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I was totally absorbed by it, and even forgot my nerves at the idea of being introduced to someone I had to pretend I didn’t know when he had tasted the tang of my own blood. I would likely be able to pass it off as nerves.

I saw him arrive in the middle of the second act, and from then on, I fiddled with my bag in my lap, drumming my fingers against it.

“Chancellor,” said Cornala as we approached him during the second intermission, “I’ve met the most delightful young woman tonight who is on Coruscant for the first time. She’s from your home world,” she pushed me forward with a gentle hand behind my back.

“Chancellor,” I said with an incline of my head. I looked into his eyes. His face showed a passive, polite interest.

His eyes showed the spark of the blue of a flame.

“What is your name, my dear?” He asked.

“Oh, forgive me,” Cornala said, “This is Rabene…”

“Tonsort,” I said, then added with a wry smile only for him, “Of the Naboo Tonsorts.”

He gave me a smirk and took my hand, drawing it to his lips and kissing it, “A pleasure, Rabene. Are you enjoying the opera?”

I nodded, “It’s the most spectacular production I’ve ever had the pleasure of seeing.”

“I’m glad you find it to your liking,” he said, “How long are you on Coruscant?”

“I’m leaving on the 22nd,” I said.

“Well. I hope you enjoy our planet as much as you enjoy the opera. Do excuse me,” he said as the chime rang again.

Following the third act, I took another long black speeder back to the hotel, and paced as I waited.

Eventually, there was a chime at the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are we wanting to see next? I’m thinking time jump to first year on Coruscant then time jump to clone wars but let me know if you’d rather I dive into some of that. Also how much Palp doing the nasty do y’all want because I can 50 Shades this bitch until you’re tired of reading sex scenes if you want me to.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This apparently gave my wife very confusing sexual feelings.

The sight of him, standing in the doorway in that black hood, was something that unsettled me greatly. But I recognized his smile, and I let him into my room.

He dropped the cloak from his shoulders and immediately caught me into his arms.

It took me a moment to catch up to him, to return his kiss, to scratch my nails all over his simple robe he wore as a disguise. 

“It was so hard,” I whispered against his jaw between kisses, “So hard to pretend I had never met you when all I wanted to do was be by your side.”

“I know, my dear,” he said as he began to claw at the pins holding up my hair, “But just think, now we have a story of how we met...and we can tell everyone how we felt something from the moment our eyes met.”

“As if I didn’t in reality, fall for you the second I saw you in person,” I said in his ear, “There’s always been this...something...about you. You make me feel safe when nothing else can.”

He pulled away and looked into my eyes, placing his hand on my cheek with that kind smile that reached his eyes.

“I love you, Rabene. So very truly. I would do anything to make you feel safe and to make that safety a reality.”

“And I’d do anything for you,” I said, panting slightly.

“This is such a lovely gown,” he said as he touched the edge of my cape, “Seven really is the best in the business. It’s such a shame.”

“What’s a shame?” I asked with my head tilted.

He leaned into my ear and caught most of my hair in a fist as he yanked back and said, “That I’m going to absolutely shred it.”

The hand in my hair then cradled the crown of my head against the impact of him slamming me against the smooth door.

He kissed me with a fire that I hadn’t felt even from him, a hunger that seemed like it could consume a star and not be satisfied, and he took hold of the yoke of my cape and ripped it from my shoulders. I felt the long row of covered buttons in the back along my spine give and heard the fabric tear.

“Mercy, fuck, yes,” I gasped.

He laughed as he leaned down and kissed, open-mouthed, across the pit of my throat to my collarbone. He bit down on my shoulder and I cried out and tensed in pleasure and pain.

Then the neck of my gown gave. He ripped it from its place and then tore it from side to side at the waistband, exposing the under bodice that held my breasts in place.

“So much fucking fabric,” he growled in exasperation.

“Fifty-thousand credits worth on your tab,” I said with a smirk.

“Well, if Seven wanted it to stay intact he shouldn’t have put it between me and your pretty flesh,” he said as he tore the skirt away from my hips and left me in the bobbinet form.

My heart was drumming in my ears like war.

With one last rip, a tragic sound of waste that nonetheless made my core molten, I was bare before him.

And he pushed me back flush against the door again.

“Just think,” he said as he pulled himself out, “Another year and this will be your life, every week. Some beautiful but tiresome function, some self-important idiots to mingle with, and then us. Nothing separating us.”

“I can’t wait,” I panted.

“Nor can I.”

And then my legs were around his waist, clinging desperately as my fingers in his shoulder blades as he took me, the angle grinding me against his pubic bone.

“I bet you couldn’t tell,” he whispered harshly, “But I could. I saw it. Sensed it. All the eyes on you. Wanting you. But who gets you, hmm?” His hand went to my throat, “Who owns you?”

He had never phrased it like that before, but it made me moan.

“You do,” I whimpered through his grip, “You, only you.”

“That’s what I thought.”

His groans were feral as he went on, paying no heed to the desperation of my cries, taking what he wanted in a way that made me feel so utterly desired I was drunk with it.

“The Naboo Tonsorts,” his laugh was harsh and breathy in my ear, “You sounded just like one of them. But I know who you really are. This side of you. Only I know.”

“Only you,” I echoed, and I lost the ability to speak.

“She learns quickly,” he sneered, “Now, come for me.”

What could I do but obey?

I convulsed, I shuddered, I collapsed into him. He took his fill as I lay limp against him like a rag doll, and then he carried me to the settee.

His fingers were delicate, stroking my hair as my head lay in his lap.

“No one has ever understood me the way you do,” he said, “No one has ever seen my darkness in the same way.”

“What darkness?” I asked groggily, “I don’t see any darkness in you.”

“Call it what you will,” he said, “I can’t share it with anyone the way I can with you.”

I smiled, “I’d call it passion.”

“Well then, I know I can do great things with you stoking my fire,” he said, patting my cheek, “All the greatest have been driven on to victory by passion.”

I made a noise, but couldn’t find words to shape it. Before long, I noticed with a vague awareness he was singing me to sleep.

I woke to the sound of my alarm the following morning, securely tucked in bed.


	13. Chapter 13

The week went by far too quickly, but the following year went by at a similar speed, and I had no problem with that.

Soon I found myself hugging most of the girls goodbye and boarding the same yacht I had the year before, settling into my seat and reflecting on what had brought me to this point.

Six years had passed since I met Sheev. I had gone from a sixteen year-old child to a twenty-two year-old young woman. The whole season of my maturing into an adult had been colored entirely by my complete infatuation with my secret lover.

I was grinning like a fool at the idea of seeing him again.

I had been accepted into the chorus of the Capital Opera following a glowing recommendation from my headmaster and two instructors. I had graduated with honors. Not only was I now a trained opera singer, I was a good one.

My confidence was soaring. My heart was flying. All of my dreams were coming true.

And on the landing platform was someone I hadn’t seen since my early days at the Academy.

Padme.

She threw her arms around me, dressed in one of the elaborate gowns she favored, and I held her close as I dared while trying not to crush the fabric or snag the beading.

“I’ve missed you so much,” she said as she stepped back, “It’s so good to have someone else I know well here.”

“Would you like to come see the apartment?” I asked her with a smile, our hands clasped between us.

She nodded with a beaming look.

My apartment was in the absolute perfect location; 500 Republica. Perfect because not only was it the same building in which my clandestine paramour lived, but because it had a series of back passages running all through the building meant for any necessary emergencies. We could come and go virtually undetected from my home on the mid floors and his in the Senatorial section. All it took was the secret acquisition of a few maintenance keys.

Sheev seemed to have even more of a sneaky streak than I had first surmised.

“This is beautiful,” Padme said as she looked around my sitting room, “And so you. More so than the flat in Theed.”

I nodded, “I got to choose the furnishings.”

“Where did you get the money for this?” she looked around in awe.

“Oh you know,” I coughed, “Here and there.”

A familiar face entered the room.

“Lorn!” I clapped my hands. I hadn’t known Sheev had secured him to come along as well.

“At your service, Miss Rabe.”

“Padme, you remember good old L0-RN3.”

She nodded, “It’s good to see you again. “

“Likewise, Miss Padme.”

“Could we get some tea, Lorn?”

“Of course, Miss Rabe.”

“Are you nervous about tomorrow? Meeting with your new agent?” Padme asked.

I laughed as I sat across from her, “Yes! I’ve never been so nervous in my life. A real career as a singer! I can’t believe it’s actually happening.”

“I can,” she said, “You don’t let anything stand in the way of what you want to do. You never have.”

I thought back to our days sneaking out to concerts using grappling cables. “I don’t, do I?”

“So what else is on the horizon?” She asked.

I flushed pink.

I had already asked Sheev if I could tell Padme. He agreed she was trustworthy enough, perhaps not to know the whole story, but at least to know that I was seeing someone secretly, and who that someone was. 

“Well,” I said, “I’m in a relationship. A serious one. One I’ve been keeping private for a long time.”

Her eyes widened. “No!”

I nodded.

“You’re kidding! Really?”

I nodded again, “Remember how I was in love when I was your handmaiden, in your first term? But I was convinced he would never love me back?”

She leaned forward, rapt.

“Well, it turns out, he ended up loving me back. After I grew up, of course.”

She squealed and clapped her hands, “Tell me who it is! Is it anyone I know?”

I grinned, “Absolutely.”

“Who?”

“Chancellor Palpatine.”

The gasp consumed her entire face.

“The Chancellor? Rabe, isn’t he...a little old for you?”

“You’d think that, but, really, he doesn’t behave as if he’s that old. Not when he’s around me. But it does make him a very stable influence, and I think I’ve needed that. Oh, Padme, you have to understand, it might be strange, and it might be a little risky sneaking around, but he’s the most wonderful man, and he treats me so well, and I just...I just…”

She took my hand with a caring smile, “You seem so happy, I can’t do much but congratulate you. If it works for you, it works for you. I assume you’d like me to keep this private?”

“Yes,” I said, “Eirtae knows I was seeing my sponsor at the Academy, but she doesn’t know who he was. No one else knows.”

“Well, I’m flattered you told me.”

“I’ve been dying to tell someone. And I’m sure you and I will be seeing a lot more of each other, now that I live here.”

She nodded, “We most likely will.”

She departed soon after to attend to a matter in the Senate, and I went in and flopped down on my terribly comfortable new bed.

Sheev was off-world on a political matter, and I wouldn’t get to see him until the weekend. But still, I was home. On Coruscant. A few flights of stairs away from his own private space.

Everything was perfect.


	14. Chapter 14

I was finally a resident of Coruscant. I was a denizen of the city-planet I had been longing to be a part of for years. I wasn’t some little student tourist from Naboo any longer, like I was the last time I saw it. I was a local now, an opera singer in the finest company, with an agent and everything.

After Padme left, I went back to the Sof Tower.

It wasn’t the time to visit Seven. I had no need for couture yet. But I went straight to the top floor, and with the money I had been allotted specifically for the purpose, I went to three separate ready to wear boutiques.

I could’ve worn them straight out, the things I bought, but the clothes were all available to be tailored in-house, and so I had just that done. I could afford to look like an outsider for one more day.

I did wear one of the pairs of shoes I bought out, though. A nice pair of black boots.

And I switched out my bag.

The life I had lived so far had felt like the set up, the rehearsal. This was the actual performance, the real thing. This was what I was meant to live.

I was about to get caught in a whirling cyclone of city life that wouldn’t set me down until I was far too dizzy to care where I landed.

That night, I spoke to Sheev.

“How does it feel?” He asked with his usual smile in his voice.

“It feels incredible,” I said, “Like being home. Except for the fact that you’re not here.”

“Well, I will be soon enough,” he said, “And then we can finally be together as we’ve always known we should be.”

I sighed happily, “I can’t wait. So, where are you right now, again?”

“Hosnian Prime,” he said, “I was invited to a ceremony celebrating their anniversary in joining the Republic. I often regret I cannot accept every invitation extended to me, but this was very important and I simply couldn’t refuse.”

“I understand,” I said, “Your work will always have to be at the forefront. I accepted that a long time ago, darling.”

“Such a dear thing you are. Although I will admit, I would be having far more fun if you were here with me. We could occupy ourselves in the evenings instead of me being shut in this cavernous room, desperate for privacy. I know you know this, but I find this part of the job utterly tiresome.”

“I know,” I said sincerely, “You’d much rather be doing the real work than the necessary social calls.”

“That I would, sweetest. But some sacrifices are worth making.”

A little silence passed between us before I said, “It’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make, too, you know. When the time comes.”

“Oh, I know my dear. But you deserve time to enjoy your youth and your career before I insist on burdening you with being First Lady of an entire Galaxy.”

“I’d do it now,” I said, “If you wanted. If I needed to.”

“Oh, I know you would. You’re the most devoted little thing I could ask for. But really, it’s within my power to let you exercise a little independence, for now.”

“What do you think you’ll do after you’re Chancellor?” I asked, “You know, when your terms are over?”

He seemed taken aback by the question. “Honestly, it’s been so consuming, I hadn’t even thought of there being a time when it would be over. I suppose I’ll retire and become a house husband to a talented opera star.”

“I’m no star yet,” I giggled and tucked my hair.

“You will be by the time my terms are up,” he said, “I know that much.”

We talked a while longer before he had to go to bed, and then I was alone again with Lorn.

I decided to use the time to go over the contracts I had signed recently. I had read them before, of course, with Sheev’s help, but I wanted to be certain I completely understood them before starting work at the company in two days, and before meeting with my agent the next day. They were dry, and boring, as all legal documents are.

Lorn brought me tea.

“You always know when I need it, don’t you?” I asked him, turning from my desk and its place facing a window toward him.

He gave me a tilt of the head, and his voice reflected happiness as he said, “I think after two years, I know you rather well, Miss Rabe.”

“You do,” I said, “I’m so thrilled you got to come along.”

“I don’t think he’d have let it be any other way. He knows we’re attached to each other,” he set the tea tray down on a side table, “I thought I’d order fondant fancies for when he comes to see you this weekend? The lemon ones, from the Galactic’s afternoon tea?”

“Oh, he’ll be delighted,” I said, then laughed, “I’ve never met someone who loves fondant fancies so much in my life. It’s adorable, isn’t it? Most powerful man in the Galaxy, getting giddy over petits fours?”

“He’s certainly a singular man, Miss Rabe. For a singular woman.”

“Thank you, Lorn.”

He inclined his head again, and departed to cook dinner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note I’m endlesshux on tumblr and I post random nonsense about this fic there sometimes.


	15. Chapter 15

“I don’t want to be famous,” I said to the Mon Calamari in front of me, Troskan, my new agent.

“Don’t worry,” He said with a laugh, “You won’t be. Only people truly passionate about opera, and in certain social circles here, know the details about the people who perform at the Capital Opera. You’ll have certain notoriety in those circles, but you won’t be famous. Opera isn’t pop.”

I exhaled, “Well, that’s honestly a very big relief. I really just want to focus on my art, and,” I swallowed, “You know, my private life, my relationships.”

He nodded, “Oh, absolutely, I completely understand. And of course, if anyone hassles you for any reason, don’t hesitate to tell them to talk to me. I won’t have a problem setting them straight.”

Troskan was a guard veteran back on Mon Cala, and had a gruff way about him that suggested he would have no problem setting anyone straight about anything. Still, there was an almost jovial quality to him, as well.

“I’ll take you down tomorrow and introduce you to management before you start your orientation,” he said, “They’re excited to meet you. It’s not every day the headmaster of Reiltan recommends a pupil personally.”

I blushed, “Thank you, that’s kind of you. I really appreciated his offering me a recommendation. It was very flattering.”

“I should say so,” he set down his fork, “Well, I suppose that’s it, unless you have any other questions for me?”

I shook my head. “Not that I can think of.”

“Great! Well, Rabe, it really is a pleasure to work with you. I can see you as a principal in half the time it normally takes, if you keep up with your training and continue to grow.”

A professional agent giving me compliments was something I had never thought I’d experience. Fellow students back at Reiltan seemed to talk as if agents were terrifying, as if they tried to make you into things you weren’t, but Troskan seemed nothing like that. He seemed genuinely excited to work with me.

We went to the opera house, where I met the management, the teaching staff who led rehearsals and exercises, and the imposing, sepulchral-looking conductor. The tour was fascinating. Everything was a world unto itself, a village inside a vast circular building not unlike the Senate on a platform covered by an overhead bubble so that it might be surrounded by gardens and fountains.

There were costumers, wig-makers, shoemakers, set painters, carpenters, animal keepers, of all sentient kinds, each in their own area in the many-floored shrine to the art of performance.

I was overwhelmed.

I babbled on about it endlessly to Padme over tea at the Galactic afterward, scarcely drawing a breath until I described all of it.

She laughed when I had mostly concluded my vomiting forth of excited words. “I had no idea so much went into creating a opera.”

“You’d think I would, having gone to school for it, but I really didn’t expect what I’ve encountered. It’s on such a scale that it’s hard to wrap my mind around, but then, I suppose that’s Coruscant.”

She nodded, “Indeed it is.”

I picked up a rose-flavored petit four and took a small bite, “And I get to be a part of it all! Even the smallest part, it’s absolutely amazing! Oh, and they had a machine that cut and scored sequins from sheets of metal in the costume shop, did I mention that? I never had any idea how sequins were made!”

“You know, neither did I, but it makes sense.” She took a sip of tea and set it down, adding a little bantha milk to it and giving it the faintest blue cast.

I poured more tea into my cup, “And tomorrow he’ll be home, and we’ll get to see each other! Oh, this is just the best week of my life.”

“I’m very happy for you,” said Padme, the faintest sorrow in her eyes.

I tilted my head. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. I guess I’m just a little jealous. It’s nice to have a companion. I have my handmaidens, my current ones, but it’s not the same. As having...someone. But there’s just no time.”

“If he can find the time, I’m certain you can.”

“You’re self-sufficient,” she said, “Moreso than the average person. You’re able to be alone for long periods of time, you’re used to being separated from him. I don’t know if I could ever do that. I feel like I’ll never be able to find anyone who would be willing to trail along after my senatorial duties.”

I took her hand across the table. I had no idea she was so lonely.

“I’ve got faith you’ll find someone,” I said, “It’s a big Galaxy, there are plenty of stars in the sky.”

She smiled a little dolefully, “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”

I picked up the box of fondant fancies Lorn had ordered when I paid our check, and we embraced as we parted.

Poor Padme, I thought as I rode home, what a terrible loneliness she must feel. Much like the loneliness I felt, before I had Sheev. The loneliness he must’ve felt. The inescapable, crushing weight of a duty that demanded almost everything from a person, leaving so little left one had to scramble for it sometimes.

I was glad those days were over for me.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ive figured out the major plot points that will take us through to the horizon of the Clone Wars. Really loving this project. Thank you all so much for all the love. This has been the most validating experience of my writing life.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for knife play and blood play. 
> 
> All Sith have a blood kink I don’t make the rules.

“Lorn, I am flattered you remembered how much I love these,” said Sheev as he took a fancy from the tray and examined it, “And no one makes them quite like the tea room at the Galactic.”

“Of course, sir. It’s good to finally meet you.”

“Likewise.” He bit into the small yellow cube of sweetness and let out a groan. 

“I can never retire to Naboo. I can’t be half a Galaxy away from these.”

I laughed softly and picked up one of my own, “I’m partial to the berry ones myself.”

“So tell me how your first week has gone.” He said, sitting back. 

“It’s gone very well. It’s been nice to see Padme. There’s something about knowing her this way that’s different. Like we can actually be real friends. I worry about her, Though. She seems profoundly lonely.”

He nodded, his teeth enclosing his lip for a moment. “Political careers can be extremely lonely. I was profoundly lonely before you came along. She’ll learn eventually, as I did, that you have to make time to have someone in your life who restores you when the work takes all you have. I have hope for her that it won’t take her as long as it took me.”

“You’re so wise,” I said, “You remind me of a convoree, perching over everything and seeing it all, having insight to everything. That’s it!” I clapped my hands once. 

“That’s what?” He asked, “What’s it?”

“You call me sweetest and I’ve had nothing unique to call you,” I said, “I’m going to call you convoree.”

He gave me a sweet smile, but his eyes sparked, “Be careful. Convorees are carnivores, and their talons can draw blood.”

“All the more perfect,” I said into my tea. 

“Speaking of which,” he said, “Do you remember my knife?”

I could never forget the small, elegant bird’s beak blade with which he had taken a lock of my hair what seemed like so long ago now. 

I nodded. 

“I still carry it,” he drew it from within his robes and removed its close plasteel sheath, “It hasn’t dulled.”

He held it in his open hand, balanced on his palm. The hilt was ebonwood set with iridescent dark red shell of some kind. 

I reached out to it tentatively, withdrawing my fingers once before I actually picked it up and turned it over in my fingers. It looked sharp as any blade, the hook of it ending in a minuscule point that had to be monomolecular. 

There was an unseen energy to it, like he had, like the Count of Serenno had, like that thing on Tatooine had. An impression of vitality. It wasn’t negative, wasn’t evil or dark. It was just...hungry. 

I noticed I was breathing with parted lips as I placed it back in his palm. 

“If I promise not to scar you,” he asked, “May I use it on you?” His eyes locked to mine were as hungry as the blade seemed to be. 

I nodded silently, looking back at him with just as much hunger. 

He put the blade away and cradled my chin in one hand, squeezed just enough to cause the slightest ghost of pain, and kissed me long and deeply. My arms went to his shoulders and gripped softly.

“I’ve been dreaming of this all year,” he said against my lips. 

He snickered as he pulled away. 

“Not yet, pet songbird,” he whispered, “Not until you beg me sweetly.”

“What exactly am I begging for?” I asked as I almost instinctively slid down to my knees at his feet. 

“Beg me to hurt you,” he said breathlessly, “Beg me to take your blood.”

“Please, love,” I said, my cheeks flushing, my request sincere, “Hurt me. I’ve missed the pain so much. Take my blood. I know you want it. Please.”

“Whose are you?” His eyes bored into mine. 

“Yours. Only yours. Always. Until death.”

He put his crooked finger under my chin and observed my face for a moment. “Alright,” he said, “I’ll hurt you.”

The sheet he laid beneath me was almost a funeral shroud, bright white and watertight, one of many things he has seen fit to stock my room with whose purposes I was ignorant of in my still-clinging innocence. 

I kissed the flat of the blade before I leaned back, as naked as he was clothed, grateful the room was warm. 

“Just a little for now,” he whispered, his look and his soft smile reassuring, “We have time, so much time, my dear, to go further. And we will go further.”

I nodded and parted my lips, my eyes fluttering closed. 

There was a sureness and finesse in the way he dragged the cold side of the blade across my skin, along my throat and over my breasts, his breathing audible and trembling as mine was. Then he pressed gently into the edge and arced the blade around one breast, then the other, making crescent shaped cuts along my sternum on either side. 

They were shallow cuts, and I pressed my chin down so that I could see them, the delay as the blood began to well up that betrayed the absolute sharpness of the blade. 

Along my sternum with the tip of the beaked blade, he began to etch into the first layers of my skin symbols I didn’t have the vantage point to make out. I closed my eyes again and relaxed into the gentle pain of the blade, feeling a rivulet of blood from the cut on my right breast trail down my side and drip onto the white fabric underneath me. 

He set the blade aside on the table. I heard it, and I felt his fingers move to my sternum and begin to trail into the blood like a child playing with paint. 

I opened my eyes in time to see him lick some from his fingertips. 

“It’s sweet,” he said, “Yours is remarkably sweet.”

I gave him a dazed smile. 

He lowered his head and began to lick the hot red smear directly from my skin with the same kind of satisfied sound of pleasure he made when indulging in anything he particularly savored. 

The cuts had already ceased their bleeding, and the blood was finite, and soon he had tasted most of it, a slight bit staining his lips like a bright red liquor. He looked drunk, as well. 

“You don’t know what your trust means to me,” he said, lacing his fingers with mine for a long moment. 

I was too removed from my senses to speak. 

I laid there breathing softly as he applied bacta to the cuts and dressed them. Then he gathered me up and slid me beneath the blankets of my bed, shed his robe, and crawled in after me. 

It occurred to me before I slipped into sleep in his arms that this time, when I woke up, he would still be there. For the first time, finally.


End file.
